'FIFA 16' Is The Benchmark For Sports Games For A Reason

September 22nd marked the launch date for FIFA 16, the latest installment of the most successful sports franchise in history. FIFA, or the Fédération Internationale de Football Association, is widely considered the most recognized sporting organization on Earth. Football, or Soccer as Americans know it, is played on just about every inhabited continent.

In 2011, FIFA 12 sold 3.2 million copies in a single week. That made it the most successful launch in sporting game history. It holds the record of 'fastest selling sports game ever' to this day, and generated over $180M in retail that first week of release. Below is a chart, showing the massive gaps in sales. Now, it should be pointed out that the numbers are only averages, and not precise. But it's easy to see that FIFA is the best-selling games.

I picked up FIFA 16 the day it came out. The last FIFA game I had played was 14, the first on the next-gen systems. The graphics on that game were stunning, and the new version did not disappoint. I know a lot of people complained about the campaign system, but after two games, I can't really say I share those complaints. Now, I should point out I don't quite understand everything about football or the game mechanics, but everything moves smoothly so far. I like the season challenges, the personal career goals. They make things interesting, and give me something to shoot for.

The commentary of each match feels very fluid and dynamic, despite the fact that there's a limited amount recorded. Additionally, there are other commentators when different tournaments happen. That's absolutely fantastic. The camera moves are more dynamic, the game play is smoother. This is a top notch game. So why is it the benchmark for all other sports games?

Well, for one, everyone wants its sales numbers. The closest game series is Madden NFL, and it's separated by a huge margin. Approximately 25M copies is about the same number as the sales figures for the entire Gears of War franchise. Of course, those two are leaps and bounds ahead of the competition. The problem I've found is that while most offer a few in-depth options, none of them have the same heart as FIFA. Maybe that's because more people globally will be buying FIFA than any other. Now here's the part of the argument where we bring up PES, or Pro Evolution Soccer from Konami. This year, Konami made sweeping changes to PES that have made it an absolutely fantastic game as well. The actual play of PES is stronger than ever before. It has very dynamic, fluid, and unique fundamentals. Plus, it uses the Fox engine, made famous by MGSV: Phantom Pain. So it looks beautiful.

Here's the argument between these two games, and it boils down to something really simple. It can be illustrated using other games. Which would you rather own, Forza or Need for Speed? If you said Forza, then PES is your game. Plain and simple. PES gets the pure football fundamentals right. There are a ton of racing games that offer only racing. Drive Club, Forza, Project Cars. They all work on a point system, but really only exist as pure driving/racing games. Need for Speed has racing, but splits the emphasis between story, racing, and modification. Does it detract from the pure racing aspect? Yes. But if you're street racing, racing is only part of why you care.

In that frame, the PES fundamentals do stand out. But if you want more, like better menus, better training, better commentary, better single player campaign, better licenses, better overall game build, then pick FIFA. Oh, and if you want to play the Women's league, you only have one choice. One. FIFA.

The other point is also very powerful, even if it does seem small. When Americans think 'football', we think NFL. When we think basketball, we think NBA. When we think baseball, we think MLB. You can see how this works. Well, when everyone thinks soccer/football, what do they think? FIFA. simple as that. The name FIFA has now become synonymous with football/soccer across the globe. There is no escaping that one simple fact. There is no other organization that rules a sport with the same recognition as FIFA. Any sport game that doesn't use the associated group or name or term is forgotten.

What's interesting is every game has pieces that resemble FIFA, but none of them have put them together to create a whole. NBA 2K's campaign/story mode is the closest thing in that regard. The story mode in Madden is lacking a lot of luster. It's fun to be an owner, to control every aspect of the game and team, but it loses something beyond that. And a lot of people will probably consider picking concession prices a little boring, even if it does give perhaps the most in-depth experience.

Ironically, there is one major element missing from FIFA, one that nearly all of us expected to be in there. Scandals. This year, we've seen quite a bit bubble to the surface, and the hits just keep coming. Only days after the launch of the new game, the Swiss Attorney General announced they were pursuing a case against once-again FIFA president Sepp Blatter. Criminal mismanagement and misappropriation of funds. You know, I could argue that the video game would be even more interesting if you could pay people off, but that would probably take away from the purity of the sport.

Is FIFA perfect? No. But I'm okay with that. Because I like the game. I think it's fun. I think it's dynamic, it's clean, it's easy to use and understand. Navigating the game is (for the most part) really easy. The game play is fun and exciting. It's got amazing cinematics and graphics. The camera angles are great. Being able to switch between a television angle and a more dynamic pro camera is great. The 'pro' camera is perhaps the most dynamic I've seen in sports games. It follows over top viewing north/south (goal to goal) for most moments. Then, when the action heats up, it pushes in close to really drive up the intensity.

Overall, FIFA 16 has earned its seat as top game. It outshines most other sports games on the whole. It's king, and will keep its crown for a very long time.